Jack's ROP

The results of Jack's eye exam came back. Jack tolerated the exam well, but was a little touchy last night. He does have slight ROP (Retinopathy of Prematurity). ROP is an eye disease that effects a large percentage of babies that are born before 31 weeks gestation. It is caused when the blood vessels in the eye develop abnormally. These vessels branch abnormally and can leak causing damage to the retina It is stage from I to V and can effect different zones (areas) of the retina. Severe ROP can result in blindness while less severe ROP can result in the need for glasses later in life or can even resolve on it's own.
Jack's ROP is considered a stage I, the least severe kind, and is located in the middle portion of zone 2. According to the National Eye Institute, "Many children who develop stage I improve with no treatment and eventually develop normal vision. The disease resolves on its own without further progression." This indeed is good news. They will continue to monitor his ROP and will perform another eye exam next Wednesday to see if it is progressing (bad) or regressing (good).
Sorry for the technical tone of today's blog, but considering how little I knew about it, I figured I would educate myself as well as the rest of you. :-) In the event that you would like to know more about they highly entertaining topic of ROP, here is the link to the National Eye Institute where I got my information: www.nei.nih.gov/health/rop/rop.asp
Other than that Jack continues to develop well. He is up to 1322 grams, translating to 2 lbs 15 oz. He is still on 28% oxygen and has moved up to 26mL on his feeds. He had another head ultrasound this morning so we should have the results of that tonight or tomorrow.
Post again soon,
~Jeny